23 S The lale Solar Eclipse. 



lliat of the moot! two or three days old. The moon's edge was 

 well defined on the sun's disc, and her body appeared like a sphe- 

 rical mass of cc)o!iii£j iron. The nearest comparison we could 

 draw on the exislint; light at the greatest obscuration is, that it 

 was only equal to that of sunset, or an early crepusculum, when 

 the sun has verged 2 dec;, or 3 i\eg. under the horizon, with this 

 difference, that the li,i>ht was stronger, and the shade considerably 

 darker, but the clouds not tinged with prismatic colours, as they 

 are generally bv the horizontal radiation at sunset. At 2 p. M. 

 the dilTerence in the increment of light was scarcely distinguish- 

 able. The sky was then free frdui clouds, and of a dark blue 

 colour : and the distant clouds near the horizon lost part of their 

 light, and descended in the lower atmosphere, as is frequently 

 observed at or soon after sunset, when the dew is falling. The 

 birds, too, both smail and great, flew over, as if hastening to 

 their nocturnal places of abode. In an hour and a half after the 

 commencement of the eclipse, Fahrenheit's thermometer sunk 

 from 70 to 60 ; nor would a burning-glass at that time set tin- 

 der on fire. — A similar thermometer that was exposed more to 

 the fre.sh S. E. breeze, sunk to 58 deg. ; so that a diminution of 

 more than l-6th took place in the dimiial temperature by the 

 influence of the eclipse. Bv 4 v. M. the thermometer had again 

 ri-^cn to(i()deg. The barometer rose 1-lOOtb, and sunko-lOOths 

 of an inch ; and De Luc's whalebone hygrometer ranged from 

 old. to 57d. durinir the eclipse. 



E<Ii?}h/)^h. — The cultivators of astronomy in this place w-ere 

 greatly disaj)pointed in having only a partial opportunity of ob- 

 serving the most remarkable eclipse of the sun that has happened 

 for manvvears. — At about a (juarter past two, a distinct view of 

 the phtenomcnon was obtained for a few minutes, in some situa- 

 tions, through flying clouds ; the end of the eclipse, although in- 

 visible i'.i the citv, was distinctly observed at the distance of a 

 few miles in the countrv, towards the south. About the middle 

 of the eclipse, the darkness which pervaded this quarter was 

 about equal to the gloom of twilight. 



At Perth and its neighbourhood, it was only partially observed. 

 No change of temperature was perceptible by the most delicate 

 thermometers, and the diminution of light was not very re- 

 markable. 



At Stirling also the weather was not favourable for observing 

 the eclipse. 



At Ayr, tl'.e eclipse was not observed at all ; nor was it visible 

 at Glasgov/, i)ut was seen verv well in some places further west. 

 Between Rothsay and Greenock, the view of it was particularly 

 favourable, as the light clouds {ci/mulo-strati) sinved t& mitigate 

 the brightness of the sun and render the advance of the moon 



perfectly 



I 



